Cattle futures traded on both sides of unchanged before heavy selling emerged in the afternoon sending prices sharply lower into the close. Selling intensified after news of a human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza after contact with an infected dairy cow in Texas.
June live cattle futures closed $4.925 lower to $175.325, while nearby April futures dropped $4.925 to $180.075. May feeder cattle futures plunged $6.025 to $242.675.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported the first human case of novel avian influenza A(H5N1) in Texas. The patient became ill following contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with avian influenza, DSHS said in a release.
The patient’s primary symptom was conjunctivitis. This is the second case of avian influenza A(H5N1) identified in a person in the United States and is believed to be associated with the recent detections of avian influenza A(H5N1) in dairy cows announced by the Texas Animal Health Commission. DSHS along with local, regional, state, and federal partners, is investigating this ongoing situation. Avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses have only rarely been transmitted from person to person. As such, the risk to the general public is believed to be low; however, people with close contact with affected animals suspected of having avian influenza A(H5N1) have a higher risk of infection.
